Johannesburg is the top destination for South African business travellers‚ with one in five travelling to South Africa’s economic capital‚ followed by Cape Town with 15% of business travellers.
Durban attracts just over one in 10 travellers while Port Elizabeth comes in a steady fourth. Together these four destinations account for almost half of all SA’s business travellers.
This is according to statistics from Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT)‚ the corporate travel division of Flight Centre Travel Group which caters to SMMEs.
According to FCBT’s statistics‚ London is the top international business destination for South Africans. Windhoek‚ Algiers and Nairobi are also amongst the top ten cities that SMME businesses are travelling to.
Business traffic to Johannesburg (through OR Tambo and Lanseria airports) grew by 27% over the past year. But the surprise was Durban‚ which increased by 37% year-on-year.
FCBT have identified other fast-growing business hubs: Polokwane‚ where arrivals grew 134%; Umtata which saw business traffic rise by 69%; and Nelspruit and Hoedspruit‚ which both registered increases of 39%.
Ryan Potgieter‚ FCBT General Manager‚ said: “While the top cities are not a surprise as most people who travel for business do so locally‚ what is interesting is the increase in South Africans travelling for business locally and into Africa.”
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa recorded the biggest increase in traffic with a 142% increase in business travellers.
This trend is also on the rise for Zimbabwe and Zambia. Victoria Falls saw SA business traveller arrivals increase 131% while Livingstone‚ just across the border in Zambia‚ registered an increase of 122%.
Cape Town‚ however‚ is the number one city overall in Africa for business tourism‚ according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
In May‚ it revealed that the city now ranks in the top 40 destinations for business tourism in the world — improving 15 places on the global rankings from 54th place in 2015 to 39th place in 2016. A total of 62 meetings took place in Cape Town‚ representing mainly medical sciences‚ education‚ and the technology sector. An additional 12 international association meetings took place in Stellenbosch. This was the fourth consecutive year the city has won the ICCA recognition ahead of others such as Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Durban‚ Polokwane and Addis Ababa attract growing number of SMME business travellers
Johannesburg is the top destination for South African business travellers‚ with one in five travelling to South Africa’s economic capital‚ followed by Cape Town with 15% of business travellers.
Durban attracts just over one in 10 travellers while Port Elizabeth comes in a steady fourth. Together these four destinations account for almost half of all SA’s business travellers.
This is according to statistics from Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT)‚ the corporate travel division of Flight Centre Travel Group which caters to SMMEs.
According to FCBT’s statistics‚ London is the top international business destination for South Africans. Windhoek‚ Algiers and Nairobi are also amongst the top ten cities that SMME businesses are travelling to.
Business traffic to Johannesburg (through OR Tambo and Lanseria airports) grew by 27% over the past year. But the surprise was Durban‚ which increased by 37% year-on-year.
FCBT have identified other fast-growing business hubs: Polokwane‚ where arrivals grew 134%; Umtata which saw business traffic rise by 69%; and Nelspruit and Hoedspruit‚ which both registered increases of 39%.
Ryan Potgieter‚ FCBT General Manager‚ said: “While the top cities are not a surprise as most people who travel for business do so locally‚ what is interesting is the increase in South Africans travelling for business locally and into Africa.”
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa recorded the biggest increase in traffic with a 142% increase in business travellers.
This trend is also on the rise for Zimbabwe and Zambia. Victoria Falls saw SA business traveller arrivals increase 131% while Livingstone‚ just across the border in Zambia‚ registered an increase of 122%.
Cape Town‚ however‚ is the number one city overall in Africa for business tourism‚ according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
In May‚ it revealed that the city now ranks in the top 40 destinations for business tourism in the world — improving 15 places on the global rankings from 54th place in 2015 to 39th place in 2016. A total of 62 meetings took place in Cape Town‚ representing mainly medical sciences‚ education‚ and the technology sector. An additional 12 international association meetings took place in Stellenbosch. This was the fourth consecutive year the city has won the ICCA recognition ahead of others such as Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos